The Price of Freedom
by Keurium
Summary: Riven knows she cannot hide from her past, but she did not expect salvation to attack her so viciously. (Nidalee x Riven, smutfic)


**Disclaimer: **I do not own League of Legends, and all characters/champions are copyrighted to Riot Games.

Was it the lithe dawn that frisked over the torrent of black clouds, or the edge of dusk waiting to push its blade through the fleshy moonbeams? The sharp light of transparency twisting and coiling in tangential motion over the thick, dead branches and rotting wood gleamed across ragged leaves and broken traps. Tear marks could be found all over the trunks of the trees and the ground was embedded with sharp points, buried deep into the musky soil. Dapples of bask mimicked that of a civilized society; the corruption that held human life by the scalp was too vicious, but superficiality could not hide itself from the hisses and growls in distance cages.

Riven knew that there had been a skirmish here. The tracks in the ground showed it, prints dancing this way and that way, blood splatters everywhere. There were no bodies to be found, but there were clear signs of trails, perhaps corpses being dragged away for a nightly snack. What she was doing here though, she was not completely sure. Only that she had seen a party of Noxians enter the woods carrying strange containers – and something just snapped in her.

She had always blamed the death of her comrades on herself, and her broken weapon was a testament to the guilt she had been overwhelmed with. Riven had been overcome once by hallucinations and mists of poison which overruled common sense, but she was, thankfully, intelligent enough to keep her distance. Until she had lost sight of the group, of course. Cloaked within the shadows, Riven continued to inch forward, her hand gripping the hilt of her blade tightly. Her movements were slow, precise yet her intentions shivered with a raw power unimaginable by many.

Perhaps she could find what remained of the hunters. Or perhaps it was too late – either way, she was indifferent. There was nothing that could make her forget the fate of her trusted comrades, yet death was given to those who tempted fate too many times. Riven was unwilling to take that step, unwilling to plead for forgiveness but she was also unwilling to bow her head and carry her burden for the rest of her life.

So, in reality… perhaps she was here simply because she could find some consolation within either the dead bodies of the Noxians, or the belly of the beasts. Both were of no difference to her, and it would remain as such. She was bound by the ankles, and no amount of struggle could break her free.

* * *

Paws continued to pad against the ground restlessly, dip and turn, jumping over obstructions. Then, a rustle, and she paused; the ground before her was ruptured and torn. Previously, golden eyes had simply refused to drink the poison - and now, sudden realization struck her like a harpoon from the dirty fog. Nidalee caught pale whiffs of contamination, corruption and of vengeance and ink spills. She let out a chilling hiss, fangs bared at the shadowed profiles, ready to spring – but!

A gunshot rang out, hitting the dirt near Nidalee's paw. She swerved - then another! It tossed mud and dust into the feline's sensitive eyes, and screeching shouts broke the clearing, wailing in the pit of her gut. A third - so close - snagged the fragile edge of her ear, both flattened now against her scalp, slowly leaking blood-red life.

The hisses grew louder; there was pain, ringing in her sensitive thoughts, "How dare they..." and jagged claws broke harshly against the grime. But the blind pounce had caught her limb, into a large mouth with fangs; the fur and bone and skin caught the spaces between the metal teeth, and loud steel rattled around her heart, beating wings like a bird set aflame.

Heavy laughs, the churn of alcohol and smoke that smeared the air around her swirled Nidalee's world into a theater of grey and white. She remembered the harsh growls of aggravation from her own throat, the searing pain in her skull and the sudden puncture pushed against her shoulder that beat her sight black until all was empty.

* * *

Riven gazed at the fleeing forms of the Noxian hunters, bleeding and cursing as they scrambled away. Monsters did not know friend from foe, and faces refulgent with misfit and satisfaction at their cruelty had taken it a step too far. She was not one to be trifled with, but even she had to feel a little disappointment at the way the group had handled their situation.

She turned to look at what poor creature had been snatched up today. Perhaps a rare sort of bear, for its fur. Perhaps a wandering Ionian… but all she saw was a… crate of sorts. Covered by a heavy, old looking blanket. Riven could hear nothing underneath it, but she knew something was there. Something awaiting the sunlight – but as to what it was, she was not so sure.

The shadow within the cage, behind the ragged cloth, twitched, eclipsed behind empty nightmares and acts of indomitable regret. Like blood to needle, it wove its torrents of blight amongst chaos; an almost foudroyant blaze of fury emanating within. There was something there – something that the Noxians wanted, and whilst Riven felt her own curiosity draw her closer, a feeling told her to keep the cage closed. But the flames of insurmountable inquisitiveness burned like an eternal flame, and with a tight grip on the hilt of her sword, Riven tore back the material with one wide-swept motion.

Instantly, the silhouette crashed its form against the cold metal, fangs bearing down upon the steel with claws alight with fury and insanity. The ring of freedom, cursed against the feline's jagged ears, only seemed to rouse the turbulence further as a paw clawed with animosity and chagrin between the tight billets. Low rumbles and growls vibrated in Nidalee's chest; there was a desire taking her – a desire to hurt. The smell of Noxus always reviled her, but their blood felt the best when spilled.

Riven, who had wisely taken a few steps back, could see the tight ripples of muscle working through agonized flesh, and Nidalee glared as thoughts blossomed like bright poison on the brain. There were bloodstains in her eyes, her matted fur clinging to skin tightly as the feline continued to reach for the freedom that dangled ever closer. Uneducated growls continued to simmer on the surface, but the woman continued to stare at the catlike creature pressed against her cell. Nothing shook her limbs with such ferocity - never before, never again.

"I've heard about you before…" Riven's voice was soft as she crouched, tilting her head as if to better contemplate the caged cougar. Nidalee stilled her agitation the best she could, though she wondered if she could somehow swipe the other's head off. "I've heard the others talk about you. You're the one everyone has been fussing about. The Bestial Huntress… Nidalee, right?"

_Oh, I'm so touched._

If it was possible for a cougar to emit sounds of humor, Nidalee would have done so with much delight. Instead, she unlatched herself from the bars, prowling in a circle now, flicking her tail as a sign of dismissal at the other's words. But despite this, her golden eyes flickered towards the other, now with small curiosity, though her ears twitched with continuous disturbance.

Riven paused. "I don't know… if I should let you out." Her tone _was _a little uncertain. She had made mistakes in the past, and while the consequences will last a lifetime, this was one mistake she had to think upon. The cougar was caught for a reason; for what reason, she was unaware. Then again, if she allowed the large cat to roam free, would she simply be putting others in danger?

"I don't think—"

A sudden, silky purr stapled her vocal chords tight.

"Oh, you poor thing," the tune was sarcastic, mocking. A voice, thrown not from the throat of a cougar, but that of a woman both uncaring and uninterested. A tanned hand, still tipped with blood and nail wrapped itself around the bars, the feral look painted on a smirk. "So strong, yet so indecisive. You're really quite a… puzzle, shall we say." The stripes marking her cheeks seemed faded, but the silver and black-brown of the night threw a dark illumination on the female.

A feeling akin to being affronted welled up in Riven's stomach – at the familiarity. As if this creature knew all about her. About her past and present. As if this Nidalee character was _judging _her for her sins. The Noxian clenched her fists as she stood up. The cold edges of her stare hinted insult, a mixture of both bitterness and a feeling she could not quite place. "It's worse when one considers themselves more an animal than human." Her retort was weak, and she knew it. But still, she continued to stare defiantly.

It was only when Nidalee let out a short laugh that she felt her face flush. But she could not afford to lose herself – not when the pitch black threatened to devour any sign of a loss of mentality or control. Riven took a deep breath, slow and deliberate. She could still feel the humor emanating from the female before her, locked in the cage. It was a wonder a chained being could still act freer than one who could spread their wings.

But everyone knew that Riven was a bird whose wings had been torn.

"Mind letting me out of this cage?" Nidalee's request was more of an order if anything. A rhetorical statement, as if Riven was used to doing what she was told. The silver-haired female herself contemplated denying the request, but Nidalee still looked at her with a tame-less expression parading across her visage; the cougar seemed to guess her thoughts, revealing emotions like a beast in repose. "After all, if you leave me here, all of those _other _Noxians will come back. You'd have wasted your time scaring them off."

Riven was left speechless as she continued to push the fatal heat back to the last possible moment; for some reason, Nidalee was infuriating. She read the signs like a fortune teller reads palms, and she interprets what no-one should. Her brash words revealed the realities of situations Riven had been brooding on for months, and with such a coarse manner… like the poisonous maniac who had released the noxious gas upon her own people. It was insanity that would drive her to her next act.

Without a word in response, Riven took up her sword and after taking one look at the multiple locks on the cage, brought the sharp edge straight down. The enchanted blade cut through the steel easily enough, and Riven caught a flicker of a victorious smirk on Nidalee's face. Somehow, she knew that the cougar would have been able to free herself, but had simply asked the Noxian to do it for her…

"There. You're free." Words. Meaningless.

Nidalee smelled repulsion, yet a desire that lingered closer as she prowled beyond her bars. It would be easy, so easy to tear the female to shreds, but the scents that mingled... a secret lust stopped her. Virtue to sin. But the Noxian herself only felt a sickness at her own thoughts. Her mind grew jaded - animal or human - as the rusty, silver gun slipped into her mouth with the trigger pushed. What Nidalee was implying from her movements, her actions, those eyes that gleamed as if it knew something... and then, the fur splattered with blood and heavy paws pressed harshly against her clothed chest – Riven was not quick enough, searching for breath and for the air that had left her.

A gasp as a low growl pushed against her ear.

The movement was sudden, but the swords-woman was well conditioned to react. Her blade whipped up, slashing the feline on the limb pushed against her ribcage. The paw lifted momentarily with a pained snarl, and Riven quickly rolled from beneath the wild cat. Nidalee chose not to pursue immediately, running her tongue over the slash, tasting the metallic copper before directing a carnal rumble towards the now standing (and somewhat confused) silver haired female. There was no reason _not _to attack her; after all, Nidalee always looked for a challenge in those she took interest in.

In one rapid movement, Riven attacked first, her weapon catching the silver light as the emerald-runed sword sliced forward. Nidalee reacted too slowly; she had pounced away, but a long, raw line appeared upon her cheek. Crimson flowers bloomed from the wound, but the sharp sting was simply like the nibble of a bug to the cat. However, Nidalee was more interested in the three razor cuts against the other woman's stomach, dripping with blood.

Riven's back now faced the cage Nidalee had recently been liberated from, her bare legs pressed against the metal as the feline circled her with much delight. As if the slow spinning of fate's thread had been woven in her favor. The huntress' whiskers twitched, and a feral smirk appeared.

"Mine."

Taking advantage of the shock at the sudden growl that sounded like words, Nidalee leaped forward, claws outstretched in a habit of the hunt as she collided headfirst into the other. She could hear the air being knocked right out of Riven and with a quick, fluid shift, the cat encircled her limbs and claws around the other in a vile embrace. The pair skidded shoulders first into the large cage. With another flicker of motion, Nidalee had her prey pinned beneath her once again, this time the scarlet leaking from the side of Riven's mouth driving the cougar into a feral frenzy.

"You… get off…!" Riven was breathing too harshly for her own liking, and she could taste more blood than what was healthy. "Get... get off..." The sentences were pathetically constructed. An awful resentment stirred in her belly, a sickening sort of combination of guilt and desire had spread through her immobile limbs. Had she made another mistake?

Her sword had been knocked clean from her grip the minute the heavy cat had tackled her, and she could not twist her head around to search for the weapon. She could feel the feline's claws prickling into her wrist, a wet nose nudging itself against her neck.

"Looks like you've lost this fight."

The weight had lightened, but Riven was still unable to move. There was a knife against her heart; the barest moment would cost her life. The tanned figure on top of her rubbed against sensitive skin, over her exposed stomach and between her legs. Nidalee let a smirk cross her lips, pressing her mouth against the other's, her nails never leaving Riven's veins. She never gave the Noxian a chance to breathe – every kiss was a sweetness Riven hated, but she drank every thought poured down her throat from the other's open mind.

The predator herself saw nothing but lips which begged for sexual embrace, the sensual curve of a fighter's figure and the subtle movements against her own body. But she also felt a sense of insecurity – a sort of begging. Nidalee saw it as returning the favor. Riven had given her freedom from a physical object, and now she was attempting to break the bonds of the past. As much as the other female wanted to hide it, the huntress _knew_. She was not so uneducated that she was unaware of the going-ons in the world outside the jungle. However, her way was her way. And her way was to prey on the inexperienced.

Nidalee forced the wrists she held captive up and above Riven's head, pinching the veins until the female squirmed with discomfort, though neither a groan nor a sigh emerged. Disappointed, the cougar simply relocated her ministrations elsewhere – the trio of wounds raked upon the other's body. She traced the shapes with her tongue, allowing the taste to direct the tip. Perhaps if Riven were less uptight, she may have a little more success in… being 'free'. So to speak.

Riven, on the other hand, had different thoughts. A shudder rattled through her frame, but she refused to give voice to the moan that begged to come. Nidalee had no right, taking over her like this… she swallowed the sound silently, moving her leg as if to knee the other female. The cougar simply moved with her, the jolt against the wounds and the sudden flood of a blood-tipped tongue pressed inside her mouth. The taste was filled with unrestrained ardor. Fire roared in her ears, like the unwelcome devil of a smile, but the sharp tips that continued to break against her skin clouded her mind to the poison.

Claws came down from her indented skin to tear the material covering her body away as Riven shuddered at the touch. Nidalee felt the confusion once again, the battle of emotions and the hesitant pulls and pushes. But she merely smirked against her quarry's bruised lips, giving one final lick before pressing her fingers down against Riven's hips, smoothing the bone and flesh, feeling the ridges. She could feel the other's thighs shaking, vibrating against her paw, and though the cougar herself felt her own growing excitement, the feeling of the Noxian at her whim, her control... it grew on her like an infestation, like the seasons and the thought of age.

Her mouth moved down the female's warm neck, tracing the bumps of wounds, wondering what it would be like to open them once again. Down it went, to her collar, painting a damp trail against Riven's chest like a work of art - like splashes of paint against the stone walls, it was careless, but Nidalee had heard it. The faintest groan, elected from the other's vocals, mimicking the softest mewls of a new-born kitten. The cougar murmured something into heated skin, allowing the vibrations to fill the other's form, driving the delicate body to insanity.

"Freedom is earned, not given." Riven whispered hoarsely. More to herself, more to Nidalee. She couldn't see the lines anymore, her eyes tightly shut against all thought and reason. She felt the wetness swirl lower, and even lower, past her stomach then paused. She felt skin under her own nails as she pressed her fingers into Nidalee's shoulder with some semblance of certainty. It was all pretense, and nothing but. Riven grit her teeth against the roaring that burned her ears, yet the softest purr touched her, heavy with lust.

It cut through the scenes of destruction and bubbling and fumes of hatred – of petty moments and non-existence. A low rumble twisted her senses, and fingers curled against both soft flesh and skin as sharp teeth bit into her collarbone. Riven let out an impulsive, unrestrained cry of gratification, and the velvet voice hummed with triumph.

"Then you'll just have to learn to fly again."


End file.
